


The Roses Outside My Window

by not_bobo



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1950s, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, F/F, Forbidden Love, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Penny and Ruby are soft gfs, Period-Typical Homophobia, Romance, Secret Relationship, at least in the beginning, indirect homophobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:55:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29312940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/not_bobo/pseuds/not_bobo
Summary: Penny Polendina is a girl from the city of Atlas, perfect in almost every way. Graceful, polite, pretty, and intelligent. One day, while she and her father are visiting Beacon Academy in the southern city of Vale, she runs into a girl who ends up changing her life.
Relationships: Penny Polendina & Ruby Rose, Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	1. The Garden

Penny Polendina could consider her life well. She was pretty, at least people would say so. She had short curly red hair that rested just above her shoulders, darling green eyes, freckles sprinkled across her pale face, and she always wore graceful long dresses, her most common accessory being the pink bow in the back of her hair. She was 16, a student at Atlas Academy in one of the most well-known cities in the world. Atlas. It wasn't the largest, but it was known mostly for its technological advancements, most recently known for its progress in making military-related items.

Penny was well known because of this, her father was Pietro Polendina, a heavily respected scientist who was considered the right-hand man to the general of the military itself, General Ironwood. Penny was what most would call perfect. Smart, graceful, pretty, and of high status. One thing changed one day when she ran into someone who helped her realize a part of herself she never had thought about.

**, , ,**

The birds that morning chirped as Penny stood outside. She wore a simple green dress that reached her knees, along with black flat shoes. The greenery surrounding her provided herself with entertainment as she named the plants within the garden. She never went to Vale much, but her father had business with the headmaster. She'd come with to get out of the cold air of the inside of Atlas Academy. There she stood now, alone in a garden with nothing to do but name the flowers. Eventually, the boredom with that grew and she took a seat, taking out a book to read while she waited.

"I've never seen you before," Came a voice. Penny's eyes looked up as she made contact with silver. There stood a girl she'd never seen herself. She had short black hair that faded into a deep red, and definitely was short overall as a person. She wore the uniform of Beacon Academy, so Penny was quick to realize she was a student.

"I'm not from here, what's your name?" Penny asked. The girl quickly replied.

"It's Ruby!" The girl who was named Ruby replied. Penny smiled before standing.

"Salutations Ruby! I'm Penny," Penny introduced herself, adding a little bow at the end.

"Well what are you doing here, are you a transfer student?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.

"No no, my father was here to speak with Headmaster Ozpin, and I decided to come with him," She said, "Don't you have classes?"

"Nope! Free period, my sister and I would typically hang out but she's with her other friend," Ruby grumbled at the last part, almost in a teasing manner, "Do you mind company?"

"Not at all!" Penny said. The two sat down on the bench together for a while and chatted. The conversation ranged from studies, to Atlas and Vale's differences, and then to technology.

Penny discovered that Ruby had gotten moved ahead in school for her intelligence and was mostly studying technology. She was a small-town girl, coming from the city of Patch. Her sister apparently was a few years older than her, but because Ruby had been moved up she was in the same grade as her. To say the least, Penny was impressed.

"So, Miss. Penny Polendina, what do you have to tell me that will impress me?" Ruby prompted once she had stopped speaking of her own studies.

"How did you know my full name..?" Penny asked. Part of her realized before she even got a response.

"Your red hair is incredibly unique, it's easy to recognize you," Ruby chuckled, "Though, I'd say your eyes also gave it away."

"My eyes?" Penny asked.

"I never realized this, but in person, your eyes reflect like the leaves do in the warm summer sun, it's pretty," Ruby said, staring Penny dead in the eye for a second. Silence sat as Penny felt her face grow slightly warm.

"Well, I'd say your eyes are pretty recognizable too," Penny added, "Silver eyes are incredibly rare."

"That's what my uncle always told me!" Ruby smiled. After a while more of talking they were interrupted by Penny's dad entering the garden. After Penny introduced her father to Ruby, the two were leaving when Ruby slipped a sheet of paper in Penny's hand.

"There, we can keep in touch!" Ruby whispered. Penny didn't look into her hand until she got home and sat on her bed. Unfolding it she saw a phone number labeled on it. There was a note underneath it.

' _Sorry, I felt weird giving you my house phone's number with your dad there, call me sometime! My dad may pick up but tell him you called to speak to me and he'll give me the phone.'_

' _P.S. I was serious when I said your eyes are pretty.'_

The feeling that followed reading the extra note at the bottom was a feeling Penny had never felt before. The same feeling she was unsure of earlier when her cheeks heated up when she was given the same compliment. There was something different about the silver-eyed girl, something Penny couldn't figure out just yet.

Maybe calling her would help her find the answer to that question.


	2. Ring

Penny had picked up the phone from her cabinet. The advantage to being her father’s daughter was that she had her own personal phone she could use… Not that she ever even used it. Either way, she read out the number Ruby had given her as she dialed it into the phone spin dial. The phone rang, a simple jingle as time passed. Then it was picked up.

“Hello? This is the Xiao-Long residence,” Came a male voice on the other line. Penny assumed it must’ve been Ruby’s dad like the note had said.

“Hello, this is Penny, I was calling to speak to Ruby?” Penny asked. An advantage to growing up in such a formal setting was she knew how to handle awkward social situations like this.

“Oh! She told me a friend would be calling,” He sounded further away as he shouted, “Ruby! It’s for you!” A few more moments and the handler of the phone changed.

“Is that you, Penny?” Ruby said when she took the phone.

“Yes! Hello Ruby!” Penny was quick in her response.

“So… You never finished telling me about yourself,” Ruby giggled, “If you want to elaborate that is, we can talk about something else if you want to.”

“Well, you seem to know me well already,” Penny said, “Do I need to elaborate?”

“Of course not! I was just curious if you had anything to add,” Ruby said, “You like books I’m assuming?”

“Yes, I do,” Penny said, “My father’s library is massive, I can’t say I’ve read even half of them yet. What about you? Are books of interest to you?”

“They are, actually,” Ruby said, “I recognized the book you had earlier, the man with two souls, right?”

“Yes, actually, I picked up the series recently,” Penny noted the book sitting on her desk she was currently halfway through, “Do you read it as well?”

“I do! My sister’s friend showed me the first book and I read it, it’s really good, you’ll like the end I think,” Ruby said. Penny began to wonder to herself… How would Ruby know she’d like the ending?

Maybe she just felt they were similar people? They’d barely been talking for 20 minutes when Penny stopped thinking about just that. Talking, talking, and more talking. Before she knew it, her father had come in to ask her to go to bed because of how late it was.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye,” Penny said when her father left the room, “Do you want to talk again tomorrow?”

“Yeah! Just call whenever once you’re done with school,” Ruby said, “Uh… Bye, I guess?”

“Goodnight!” Penny said, she hung up the phone and stared at it for a while. She stood up from her desk where she’d been sitting and went to sit on her bed. Laying down now she looked at her ceiling. Her mind was full of thoughts.

  
She didn’t have friends. Her social time was limited due to… Well, her father and the General a long time ago had decided that she’d be a future representative for Atlas, meaning she had numerous amounts of things to do. Which left her with no time for friends. She had a few people she knew, like her assistant she sometimes had, Ciel.

She had friends when she was little. Her father had adopted her at a young age, but she still remembered having friends at the orphanage she stayed at. Even then, there was some unexplained feeling she felt when Ruby had complimented her eyes. The feeling she could try to describe to herself, it was warm. Her face felt warm. Her heart sped up a little in that moment. She figured maybe she was flattered, and that she’d feel different overall tomorrow.

…

Yet almost 3 weeks of calling her practically every night she felt no different. If anything the feeling was amplified. She couldn’t stop thinking about her by now. She’d sit in school, her mind thinking about her soothing voice across the line, she looked forward to every night when they would call for hours.

So when she found out she wouldn’t be able to call her for a week when her father told her they’d be out of town on a business trip, Penny had to admit she was devastated. She’d picked up the phone that night and dialed Ruby not ready to tell her.

“Hey, Ruby,” Penny said when Ruby picked up. The conversation was normal for about five minutes until she finally dropped the bomb.

“Ruby…” Penny hesitated before letting the words out, “I… I won’t be able to call you for about a week, my father and I are going to be on a trip.”

“That’s fine! Maybe afterwards we can hang out?” Ruby asked, she was taking the news oddly well.

“You know I never have time to go anywhere,” Penny said. Ruby stayed silent for a moment.

“Well, that’s a shame… Uh…” Ruby stopped, “I have to go, I’ll call back in a minute!” With that, the phone had been hung up. Penny sat a bit shocked and confused.

Maybe she wasn’t taking it well? She couldn’t tell, it was hard to read Ruby’s tone. She sat down on her bed, the phone on her bedside table as she waited for a call back.

Tick tock.

The grandfather clock in the room was ticking as the minutes passed.

Her mind raced, sweat crawling on her face. She grabbed a book and sat down to read. But she couldn’t. She couldn’t stop thinking of what happened.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

Then, a sound. Not a phone ringing like she expected, but a sound against her window. It had to have been an hour by now since she’d laid down.

Again, a sound. A thump. She stood up and walked over to her window. She looked into the flowers just beneath her window, roses. Inside the soil she saw two rocks, just beside each other. She opened the window to grab her but heard a voice.

“Penny!” Ruby stood on the ground, staring up into the room. Penny’s eyes widened. Had Ruby really gotten all the way up to _Atlas_ in an hour? It seemed impossible…

“What are you doing here?” Penny asked, Ruby shrugged.

“You said you couldn’t get out, so I decided to come here instead,” Ruby had walked up to the side of the house now, a weaving of wood was conveniently leaning against the wall, “Mind if I come in? It’s cold.”

“I don’t mind, but what if my dad sees you?” Penny said, “I don’t want you to get in trouble…”

“It’s fine!” Ruby had climbed up to where Penny’s window was by this point, and she climbed in. She wore a simple outfit, a button-up shirt tucked into a pair of pants. Her hair was in the same style it was the first time they’d met, and her silver eyes still shone gorgeously in the moonlight.

_God_ she was pretty. They stared each other in the eyes for a moment before Penny finally closed the window. Standing there it was a little awkward for a moment. Penny eventually spoke.

“So… Do you want to sit down?” She gestured to a chair, “You must be tired.”

  
“I’m not that tired, but thank you,” Ruby took a seat in the chair and Penny sat on the side of her bed. Ruby stayed silent as she gazed around the room. Ruby’s eyes eventually landed on a picture on the wall.

“Who’s that?” Ruby directly pointed to the picture. Penny knew who was in the picture, it was of her and her father when she was around 9. She remembered taking the photo, her father still could stand properly then.

“It’s me and my dad, about 8 years ago,” Penny said out loud, “We were at a party, I remember.”

“Really? You look so much younger!” Ruby chuckled a little, “You were so cute.”

“Yeah, that’s what everyone always told me…” Penny said, “Oh hey! You want to listen to some music?”

“Yeah, what music do you have?” Ruby perked up.

“Hold on, I’ll let you choose,” Penny got up from the side of her bed and walked to where she had her record player and records, “Come here, I have tons of music.” Ruby stood up and came over to where Penny was and peered at the records.

“This one,” Ruby was quick to place the record in the record player without saying what it was.

The music was quick to startup as Penny and Ruby sat down together on Penny’s bed. Penny recognized the intro.

“You know this song?” Penny questioned.

“It’s one of my favorites,” Ruby replied.

‘ _Fly me to the moon, and let me play among the stars.’_

Penny shifted a little closer to Ruby.

‘ _Let me see what spring is like on, juniper and mars.’_

Ruby looked up at Penny for a moment.

‘ _In other words, hold my hand.’_

“Do you dance?” Ruby asked.

‘ _In other words, baby kiss me.’_

“No, I’m not a huge fan of it,” Penny shook her head.

‘ _Fill my heart with song and let me sing forevermore.’_

“Aw, come on! Just a quick dance,” Ruby said.

‘ _You are all I long for all I, worship and adore.’_

Penny hesitated for a moment.

‘ _In other words, please be true.’_

Eventually, she stood up, which was quickly followed by Ruby.

‘ _In other words… I love you.’_

The interlude started when Ruby took Penny’s hands and began to sway around with her. Penny’s dress she was wearing flowed with their movement as Ruby continued to dance with her around the room. Then, the lyrics started back.

‘ _Fill my heart with song, let me sing forevermore.’_

‘ _You are all I long for, all I worship and adore.’_

Ruby swung Penny around once more and leaned her down.

‘ _In other words, please be true.’_

Penny and Ruby both looked each other in the eyes as they stayed in the same position.

‘ _In other words. In other words. I…’_

Ruby leaned a bit closer to Penny.

‘ _Love…’_

Penny felt that same emotion… Her cheeks felt warm.

‘ _You.’_

With that they stayed staring at each other. The silence over them for several moments before Ruby’s feet slipped and they landed on the floor.

“Dang it!” Ruby whisper shouted as she scrambled up.

“Someone had to have heard that, you should probably go,” Penny said, there was no way that loud of a thump would be ignored.

“Alright, well uh… Call me when you get back next week!” Ruby said, approaching the window. She climbed out and waved to Penny, Penny waved back and soon enough Ruby was on the ground and gone from sight.

That interaction… How could she even explain it? Her mind was wandering oh god it was wandering and _wondering_.

When someone came to check on her she was quick to cover up that she’d been practicing dancing and had fallen by accident. She knew she was not telling the truth. She knew how close Ruby had been to her.

That feeling… What was it? She looked around her room as if searching for an answer. Her eyes landed on a portrait of a couple.

It hit her.

It hit her to the point she shot out of her bed and ran to the photo and stared even closer at it.

The feeling.

That… _That feeling._

She realized the reason she never felt this feeling for anyone else was because it wasn’t a normal feeling that came with most relationships. Something she really _shouldn’t_ be feeling for a woman.

_She was in love._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S VALENTINES DAY THIS WORKS HAHAHAHHAHA
> 
> anyways wow penny realized she has feelings for ruby the next chapter is gonna be fun

**Author's Note:**

> Well I decided to finally write Nuts and Dolts! I really like the idea of a modern au in a sort of forbidden love situation if you get what I mean? Either way, hope you enjoy it! I don't know if I'll include many A/N's as I'm a bit lazy when it comes to them sometimes.


End file.
